2002 British Grand Prix
7 July |number = 690 |officialname = LV Foster's British Grand Prix |circuit = Silverstone Circuit |location = Northamptonshire, UK |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 5.141 |laps = 60 |distance = 308.460 |pole = Juan Pablo Montoya |polenation = COL |poleteam = |poletime = 1:18.998 |fastestlap = 1:23.083 |fastestlapdriver = Rubens Barrichello |fastestlapnation = BRA |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 58 |winner = Michael Schumacher |winnernation = GER |winnerteam = |second = Rubens Barrichello |secondnation = BRA |secondteam = |third = Juan Pablo Montoya |thirdnation = COL |thirdteam = }} The 2002 British Grand Prix, formally the LV Foster's British Grand Prix, was the tenth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, UK, on 7 July 2002.'British GP, 2002', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr690.html, (Accessed 18/11/2019) The race would see Michael Schumacher claim a dominant victory, courtesy of his superior Bridgestone wet tyres. Qualifying had seen Juan Pablo Montoya claim a fourth straight pole position for , edging out Rubens Barrichello by just 0.034s. Schumacher himself was just a hundredth further behind in third ahead of Ralf Schumacher in the second Williams, while the two shared the third row. It was a dark and overcast day as the field gathered on the grid for the start, with dramas for as Barrichello stalled on the formation lap. The Brazilian was hence sent to the back of the grid when he was fired back up again, enhancing Montoya's hopes of holding onto the lead at the start. Montoya duly eased away when the lights went out to claim an early lead, with Michael Schumacher unable to challenge into the first corner. Behind, Ralf Schumacher was under immediate pressure from Kimi Räikkönen, while Barrichello stormed past a handful of cars at the back of the pack. The race quickly settled down, with Montoya able to keep Michael Schumacher at arm's length, while Räikkönen snatched third from Ralf Schumacher. Behind, Barrichello continued to make up ground at an impressive rate, moving into eighth by the end of lap six as the first spots of drizzle began to fall on the circuit. That drizzle soon developed into a steady fall of rain, prompting the field to begin pitting for wet tyres from lap ten onward. The Williams' and Michael Schumacher all stopped on lap thirteen, Räikkönen having stopped a lap before, leaving David Coulthard in the lead of the race until he stopped two laps later. After the wave of stops it was Montoya leading from Michael Schumacher and Barrichello, the Brazilian having gained even more ground with an early stop. However, Montoya's lead had been demolished by the conditions, and with Michelin having a reputation for poor wet-weather tyres, the Colombian racer was powerless to prevent both Ferraris slipping past in the intervening laps. With that the Ferraris were away, with Schumacher leading comfortably from Barrichello, with both soon under no threat from Montoya. Elsewhere, McLaren took a gamble and pitted both fourth placed Räikkönen and ninth placed Coulthard for slicks, only for both to end up pitting again and rejoin at the back of the field. Such was Ferrari and Bridgestone's advantage that Barrichello was able to spin mid-race and rejoin ahead of Montoya, before slipping back behind the Colombina when he made a second stop. However, within five laps of said stop the #2 Ferrari would sweep back ahead of the #6 Williams, and duly disappear from Montoya into the gloom with ease. With that the race was run, with Michael Schumacher cruising across the line to claim victory, a quarter of a minute clear of Barrichello. Montoya was a lonely third as the only other man on the lead lap, with Jacques Villeneuve, Olivier Panis and Nick Heidfeld claiming the remaining points after a series of late retirements. Background Michael Schumacher had established a huge tally of 76 points at the halfway point of the FIA Formula One World Championship, leaving German with a 46 point advantage. Ralf Schumacher now occupied a clear but vulnerable second place, three ahead of teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, while race winner Rubens Barrichello was up into fourth. The Brazilian himself had moved ahead of David Coulthard on countback as a result of his win, with fifteen different scorers. In the Constructors Championship there was little surprise that led the way at the halfway mark, ending the ninth race weekend having broken the 100 point barrier. Furthermore, they had opened out a 45 lead over in second, meaning they could afford to miss two whole race weekends and still retain a healthy lead. Behind, had inched closer to Williams in third, leaving Germany twenty behind, with all bar on the score board with eight rounds to go. Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Qualifying Report Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Button was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance. Milestones * started their tenth Grand Prix as a constructor and engine supplier.'2002 British GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2002&gp=British%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 18/11/2019) * Tenth start for Felipe Massa, Allan McNish, Takuma Sato and Mark Webber. * 60th career victory for Michael Schumacher.'10. Britain 2002', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/grande-bretagne.aspx, (Accessed 18/11/2019) ** Schumacher set a new record for most podium finishes - 107. * 152nd win for as a constructor and engine supplier. * Rubens Barrichello scored his 30th podium finish. Standings Michael Schumacher moved ever closer to his fifth World Championship title with victory at Silverstone, leaving the British circuit with 86 points to his name. That meant that he held a 54 point advantage at the head of the field, and could feasibly win the title in France, before the end of July. Indeed, Rubens Barrichello, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher, his closest challengers, were set to be the only ones who could deny the German ace, if they could finish ahead of him in France. In the Constructors Championship had also moved into an almost unassailable lead, leaving Silverstone with 118 points and a 57 point lead. hence could still entertain a title threat, but now faced an almost four race deficit in terms of points just to get back onto terms with the Scuderia. They did, however, manage to increase their healthy margin over third placed , while were off the foot of the table after claiming their first points of the campaign. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Grand Prix articles Category:2002 Grands Prix Category:British Grand Prix